According to local media, Pope Francis met with the homeless, poor, and refugees on Saturday at St. Elizabeth’s Church in Budapest, Hungary. The pontiff began his three-day visit to the Hungarian capital on Friday and has already met with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and President Katalin Novák. Today he is scheduled to meet with young people and members of the Society of Jesus.
Meeting with the poor, homeless, and refugees is an important topic for Pope Francis, who has spoken on numerous occasions about the church’s need to help the most needy and marginalized in society. In addition, the pontiff has been very critical of Hungary’s stance on immigration and refugees, so this meeting is likely to have special significance.
On Friday, during his meeting with Orbán and Novák, Pope Francis urged Hungarian leaders to show “openness” to immigrants and refugees and to be “tolerant and respectful” of those who are different from them. He also met with representatives of the Jewish community and visited St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
On Saturday, Pope Francis is scheduled to celebrate an open-air Mass in Budapest’s Heroes’ Square, where he is expected to meet with thousands of faithful. He will then move on to Slovakia to continue his apostolic journey, during which he will also visit other cities in the country.
Thursday, March 28, 2024